The European Commission has published an overview of the activities and achievements realised during the first phase (Pillar I) of the BUILD UP Skills initiative. Funded by Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE), BUILD UP Skills is a strategic European initiative that aims to stimulate the training of craftspeople and other on-site workers in the building sector on the topics of energy efficiency and renewable energy as part of the European Commission's Energy Efficiency Plan.
Under the initiative, 30 national teams received financial support from the Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE) programme, managed by the European Commission’s Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME). The report highlights the project’s main achievements, which include the fact that the 30 national project teams have mobilised over 1800 organisations in the relevant fields to promote the continued education of workers in the building sector.
The report also identifies some of the main barriers to improving energy efficiency in the construction sector, the scale of these barriers and the related measures that will have to be taken in order to achieve Europe’s 2020 objectives for the building sector. Specifically, more than 3 million workers will need training by 2020, which will require widespread coordinated action throughout the construction industry in Europe.
Project teams from the 28 European Member States, Norway and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia participated in Pillar I. The second phase, Pillar II, is based on putting these National Roadmaps into practice. It facilitates the creation or improvement of qualification and training schemes. Pillar II started in November 2013, with projects running in 11 European countries. More projects are expected to start in 2014. During the whole BUILD UP Skills initiative, regular exchange activities among the participating countries are organised to underline the European dimension and to foster learning among countries.